6E-4.001: Fees and Expenses
PURPOSE AND EFFECT: The purpose and effect of the proposed rule is to delete the fee charged a student by the Commission when the Commission provides the student with a copy of his transcript, to reduce the charge to institutions licensed-by-means of accreditation for adding or modifying a program, to correct the language describing the circumstances when fees will be reduced and to include a date for the end of the fiscal year. The purpose is also to include the description of a Florida student for traditional and distance education.
SUMMARY: The proposed rule removes the $10 fee for providing a student transcript, reduces the fee for adding a new program or modifying an existing one from $500 or $1,000 to $250 and corrects language so that base and workload fees are reduced when the total revenue collected during a fiscal year is 12% or greater than budged expenditures for that year. A Florida student is a student that attends a Florida licensed location or for distance education, a student that receives his materials at a Florida address.
SUMMARY OF STATEMENT OF ESTIMATED REGULATORY COSTS AND LEGISLATIVE RATIFICATION:
The Agency has determined that this will not have an adverse impact on small business or likely increase directly or indirectly regulatory costs in excess of $200,000 in the aggregate within one year after the implementation of the rule. A SERC has not been prepared by the agency.
The Agency has determined that the proposed rule is not expected to require legislative ratification based on the statement of estimated regulatory costs or if no SERC is required, the information expressly relied upon and described herein: The proposed rule is not expected to exceed any of the criteria set forth in Section 120.541(2)(a), Florida Statutes, and thus, a legislative ratification is not required under Section 120.541(3), Florida Statutes. This determination is based upon the nature of the proposed amendments, discussions at the rules workshop and the Commissions experience in adopting rules on this subject.
Any person who wishes to provide information regarding a statement of estimated regulatory costs, or provide a proposal for a lower cost regulatory alternative must do so in writing within 21 days of this notice.
RULEMAKING AUTHORITY: 1005.22(1)(e), 1005.35, 1005.37, 1005.38 FS.
LAW IMPLEMENTED: 1005.22, 1005.35, 1005.37, 1005.38 FS.
A HEARING WILL BE HELD AT THE DATE, TIME AND PLACE SHOWN BELOW:
DATE AND TIME: November 15, 2011, 9:00 a.m.
PLACE: Andrew Jackson High School, 3816 N. Main St., Jacksonville, Florida
THE PERSON TO BE CONTACTED REGARDING THE PROPOSED RULE IS: Samuel L. Ferguson, Executive Director, Commission for Independent Education, 325 West Gaines Street, Suite 1414, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0400
THE FULL TEXT OF THE PROPOSED RULE IS:
6E-4.001 Fees and Expenses.
(1) The Base Fee and the Workload Fee shall be assessed at one of six levels based upon the Florida student enrollment (per license issued) for the last reported fiscal year ending on June 30th. For each licensed institution, Florida student enrollment consists of all students enrolled at a Florida campus of a licensed an institution and for plus all Florida residents enrolled in any CIE licensed distance education, a student whose mailing address for purposes of receiving distance education lessons and materials from the school, is a Florida address program. If an institution that holds a license has not submitted enrollment data to the Commission (using the CIE Annual Data Collection) they shall be assessed at the highest level.
(a) Level 1 = 0 to 100 students
(b) Level 2 = 101-500 students
(c) Level 3 = 501-1,000 students
(d) Level 4 = 1,001 to 5,000 students
(e) Level 5 = 5,001 to 10,000 students
(f) Level 6 = over 10,000 students
If the total revenue collected by the Commission during a fiscal year is greater than 12% or greater than of the Commissions budgeted expenditures for the same fiscal year, the Commission is authorized to reduce the Base Fee and Workload Fee up to 3%. If the total revenue collected by the Commission during a fiscal year is less than the Commissions budgeted expenditures for the same fiscal year, the Commission is authorized to increase the Base Fee and Workload Fee up to 3%.
(2) No change.
(3) Workload Fees. Each licensed institution receives technical assistance from the Commission, along with help in developing and implementing institutional articulation agreements and achieving candidacy status with accrediting agencies; and significant amounts of staff and administrative time are spent on evaluating applications, traveling to institutions for onsite visits, assisting institutions which are experiencing problems with financial aid or financial stability, and other duties assigned by the Commission. The following workload fees are assessed in addition to the Base Fee, and must be received prior to Commission consideration of each action.
Initial Application for License, or Moving from Nondegree to Degree:
New Nondegree Institutions $2,000 + $200 per program
New Degree-Granting Institutions $3,000 + $200 per program
Annual Review of Licensure and License by Means of Accreditation Review:
Level 1 = $1,500
Level 2 = $2,000
Level 3 = $5,000
Level 4 = $7,000
Level 5 = $8,500
Level 6 = $10,000
Institutions not Licensed by Means of Accreditation shall pay $50 per licensed program (not to exceed $500) as part of the Annual Review of License.
Substantive Change Review
$1,000
Provisional or Annual Licensure Extension (first)
$500
Provisional or Annual Licensure Extension (second)
$750
Provisional or Annual Licensure Extension (third)
$1,500
New Program or Program Modifications, Less than Substantive Change or More than One Minor Modification per Year:
Nondegree Programs for Annually Licensed Institutions
$500
Degree Programs for Annually Licensed Institutions
$1,000
Nondegree and Degree Programs for Institutions Licensed by Means of Accreditation:
.$ 250
Site Visits:
One Visit per Year
Included in licensure fee
Subsequent Visits directed by Commission
$300 per day
Approval to Use College or University, First Time or Special Review $500
Annual Licensure of Recruiting Agents
(nontransferable) $200
Criminal Justice Information Investigation $50
Copy of Student Academic Transcript on File
$10
(4) through (9) No change.
Rulemaking Specific Authority 1005.22(1)(e), 1005.35, 1005.37, 1005.38 FS. Law Implemented 1005.22, 1005.35, 1005.37, 1005.38 FS. HistoryNew 1-7-03, Amended 7-27-04, 1-30-08, 7-21-08,_______.
